The present invention relates to a liquid dispenser and more particularly, relates to dispensers suitable for dispensing juices and to a method therefore.
The dispensing of liquids from a dispensing apparatus is well known in the art and many different types of dispensers are known and commercially available. The known apparatuses are designed for dispensing soda drinks, certain types of juices, milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. These machines may either be designed to be used by a staff in a hospitality outlet such as a restaurant or alternatively, directly for use by the consumer. Some of these machines have a mechanism for receiving money and dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid.
In the field of dispensing juices, certain problems are encountered. A juice typically is a suspension containing solids and thus, means must be provided to keep the solids in suspension before dispensing. One such a type of machine places the juice in a container (typically formed of a plastic or glass material) in which the juice is continually pumped and refrigerated. A drawback with this type of system is that the juice is continually exposed to oxygen and thus the quality of the juice will deteriorate quickly. Secondly, such a machine requires frequent cleaning and is a high maintenance system.
In order to overcome these disadvantages, the industry has developed various types of apparatuses for dispensing reconstituted citrus fruit or vegetable juice concentrates. A portion of concentrate is first dispensed, then mixed with water and is subsequently dispensed into a cup or other receptacle. Problems which are encountered include the dispensing of the juice concentrate, which carries pulp and other solids, with an efficient flow through valves and the like. Generally, such systems have multiple valves which operate to mix independent flows of water and juice concentrate to control the brix of the final product which is then dispensed into a cup or glass. The dispensing apparatus usually includes a cooling system which uses refrigerant filled coils to form an ice bank which is surrounded with conduit coils through which the water passes and is chilled. It is generally not necessary to cool the concentrate because of the ratio of water to concentrate and the fact that water is independently cooled.
Many people do not enjoy the taste of a juice made from a concentrate which is subsequently mixed with water. Indeed, many juices available for home consumption are packaged in containers and they are specifically labeled that they are not from a concentrate. Even though the concentrate provides a far more efficient means of shipping, the not from concentrate (NFC) market is a substantial one and one which is not well served by the currently available dispensing apparatuses.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus suitable for dispensing a fluid from a container wherein the fluid requires agitation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus suitable for dispensing a juice which is not from a concentrate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for marketing not from concentrate juices in the hospitality industry.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid dispensing apparatus suitable for dispensing a fluid packaged in a container, the apparatus comprising a housing having a compartment to receive the container, means for cooling the compartment, means for agitating the fluid while in the container in the compartment, and means for controlling the flow of the fluid from the container.
In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided, in combination, a juice dispensing apparatus and a juice container, the juice container comprising a bag in a box containing a juice in the bag, the apparatus comprising a housing having a compartment, the juice container being mounted in the compartment, means for cooling the compartment, means for agitating the juice in the juice container, and means for controlling the flow of the juice from the bag.
In a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for dispensing a juice comprising the steps of packaging the juice in a bag in a box container, placing the container in a compartment of a juice dispensing apparatus, cooling the compartment, maintaining the bag in contact with agitating means, agitating the bag to maintain the juice in a mixed condition, and discharging the juice from a spigot formed in the bag
In greater detail, the fluid dispensing apparatus of the present invention may be used to dispense a variety of different products. Thus, the dispensing apparatus of the present invention is ideally suited for the dispensing of juices not made from a concentrate as it addresses a long standing problem. These juices may include fruit juices and/or vegetable juices. However, it will be understood that the dispensing apparatus may be used to dispense any suitable fluid. Therefore, when reference is made to dispensing juice, it will be understood that the term includes any fluid which could be operably dispensed.
The dispensing apparatus of the present invention is preferably used with a container of fluid packaged in a bag in a box format. Such formats are well known in the art and widely used for transporting liquids. The bag is formed of a suitable plastic material and in a preferred embodiment, comprises an EVOH material. The box is typically formed of a corrugated paperboard material. It will, however, be understood that other suitable containers may be employed in the practice of the present invention.
As aforementioned, the apparatus includes a compartment formed within the apparatus and which compartment includes means for maintaining the same in a chilled or cooled condition. In this respect, any suitable cooling means may be utilized although in a preferred embodiment, a thermoelectric device is utilized. Since, in the preferred embodiments, the juice is shipped in a chilled condition, the thermoelectric device provides enough capacity to maintain the compartment at the desired temperature. Preferably, the thermoelectric device is arranged such that it is mounted adjacent one of the walls of the compartment with a heat sink operatively connected to a cold side of the thermoelectric device being mounted in the compartment. There are also preferably provided means for circulating the air in the compartmentxe2x88x92i.e. suitable blower or fan means.
On the other side, the thermoelectric device will include a heat sink connected to the warmer side of the device. This warm heat sink is preferably well insulated from the compartment and means are provided for circulating air over the warm heat sink to remove the heat and convey it exteriorly of the apparatus.
As aforementioned, there must be provided means for maintaining the juice or other fluid in a mixed state wherein any solids are maintained in suspension and the liquid is relatively homogeneous. Although various mechanical means and/or other means such as ultrasonics could be utilized, a preferred means comprises the use of piezoelectric properties of a material. Thus, one can provide intermittent pulses of current to a material having piezoelectric properties and cause a vibration of the material.
In a preferred embodiment, piezoelectric ceramics are utilized to agitate the liquid in the bag. Conveniently, a plurality of piezoelectric ceramics may be bonded to a suitable material such as a glass, the device being placed such that the bag of the bag in a box container rests on the device. In a preferred embodiment, the configuration or exterior outline of the portion containing the piezoelectric ceramics would not present square comers, but rather would be oval or have another curved configuration.
Typically, a dispensing outlet for the bag in a box format may include either a spigot or a valve structure and in one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an outlet tube therefrom. The outlet tube is designed to extend through an opening in the bottom of the compartment to a location where the liquid may be dispensed to a suitable cup or glass or pitcher. The apparatus will also include means for controlling the flow of the liquid from the bag; although there are known metering devices such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,252, a simple stop/start arrangement may be provided. To this end, any suitable device to squeeze a tube closed may be utilized. In a preferred embodiment, a valve structure such as is commonly used for boxed liquids such as wine may be used. In such an arrangement, a mechanism for opening the valve may be activated by a solenoid.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a scale placed in the bottom of the compartment. The scale is operative to continually measure the weight of the container. The measurement of the weight can be utilized to control how long the agitating means function and also could be utilized to control a dispensing time such that a constant portion of liquid is dispensed during any dispensing cycle irrespective of the amount of liquid left in the container. Furthermore, the information on the weight can be useful to advise when the container is nearing empty.
The control mechanisms of the dispensing apparatus may be arranged in any different number of manners. One could include circuit boards to monitor and then control the cooling cycle, the dispensing cycle and the agitation cycle. It suffices to say that it is well within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to provide for such controls.